To the Rescue: Clean Out That Toy Box

Whenever I'm ready to move, doing some Spring cleaning, or just can't take the number of toys North has cluttering up the house, I play a fun game with him. Well, it's fun for me anyway. Like many of you, my dog is a strong chewer, which means after he attacks the toy and kills the squeaker, he still likes to carry the toy carcass around the house. Most toys that he enjoys don't look new for long, and I get tired of looking at toothmarked squeaky toys and plush toys with no plush left inside. I think I can pick my pup's five faves but after that he may dig through his toy box for a treasure I had long since forgotten. So, a couple times a year, it's time to purge . . . and he's in control! How do I do this? Find out when you read more.

My unconventional method is to go through my pup's toys one by one. Other than his obvious faves, I hold one toy up to him in either hand at the same time. The one he goes after, he gets to keep. The other one gets put out to pasture! Do any of you have different tactics to get rid of extra dog toys? I want to hear them in your comments below!

We rotate our toy selections out probably 4x a year - half the toys live in a box in the closet, half in the toy basket. When the dogs start to get bored with the toys in the basket, they get switched out with the closet toys. Tends to keep them looking newer for a longer time too.